Megliola: Celts showing Hawks not much of an opponent

Thursday

Apr 24, 2008 at 12:01 AMApr 24, 2008 at 12:14 PM

Boredom has officially taken over. TNT can't be too happy with the Atlanta Hawks. With the Celtics' 96-77 Game 2 piece of cake last night that looked suspiciously like Game 1, the Hawks are in a position most folks figured they'd be this morning. With one foot in the grave. There was no mystery to what these teams were thinking before this game. The Hawks needed to win to keep playoff fans interested in this series. The Celtics wanted to drub Atlanta again, and prove the Hawks are simply unworthy of even being in the playoffs.

Lenny Megliola/Daily News staff

Boredom has officially taken over. TNT can't be too happy with the Atlanta Hawks.

With the Celtics' 96-77 Game 2 piece of cake last night that looked suspiciously like Game 1, the Hawks are in a position most folks figured they'd be this morning. With one foot in the grave.

There was no mystery to what these teams were thinking before this game. The Hawks needed to win to keep playoff fans interested in this series. Get outta Dodge with a split, then go home for a couple games and show you can play with this 67-win team.

The Celtics' thinking was just a bit different. They wanted to drub Atlanta again, and prove what many NBA fans believe to be the truth: The Hawks are simply unworthy of even being in the playoffs. Go two-up was Boston's intention. Then, at worst, get a split in Atlanta. If the Celtics must return to the parquet for the official burial, that's OK too. Isn't that pretty much the direction everybody had this series going?

Doc Rivers wasn't going down that road. He might be thinking it, but he wasn't about to say so before the game. Doc pulled out his top shelf CoachSpeak.

"Each game gets tighter and tougher," he opined. Well, yeah. The Hawks lost by 23 points in game 1. Basically, all they had to do was show up breathing to be more competitive. But could they win?

Nah. The Hawks look clueless. Let's see if some southern home cookin' does anything for them.

Again, Boston's defense settled the issue. Not that the hurtin' they put on the Hawks isn't something they go through daily. "We've been putting it on ourselves in practice," said Ray Allen. "If we're guilty of anything, it's (being) over-enthusiastic."

The only concern in the first half (52-42, Celtics) was how serious was Paul Pierce's back. A hard first quarter foul by rookie Al Horford put Pierce on his back, forcing him to bolt to the locker room a few minutes later with a low back strain. He sort of slipped back to the bench in the second quarter without almost anyone noticing. Not exactly the stuff of Willis Reed.

When Pierce went down, the Celtics seemed to pump up their volume. "I think so," said Allen. "You get more aggressive. But that's playoff basketball. Everybody gets chippy."

It's an oft-told story now how these Celtics underwent a total metamorphosis this season. Danny Ainge put together not just a team that could make the playoffs, but one that could realistically think it could be around four rounds. And if you can get that far ...

The Celtics are a fascinating mix of veterans and guys still feeling their way around. Much of the focus all season has been on second-year point guard Rajon Rondo. If he's worth anything, a point guard has to have the respect and trust of his teammates. The vets especially have to believe in him. That's hard for a young point guard to pull off.

Rondo was a rookie a year ago on a rudderless team. His play and makeup hardly reflected leadership qualities. He's a confident kid, all well and good, but if he was trying to get his teammates to follow his lead, it didn't work. "There wasn't a lot of reason to listen to anyone last year, including me," said Rivers. Good point.

Rondo had his doubters, and eyes were on Ainge and his shopping basket during the off-season. Would he go out a get another point guard? "I thought we had one," he said. Doc was correct.

For the second straight game, Rondo outplayed Mike Bibby. The way this series is going for Bibby, his old man Henry could do better. Rondo shot 6-for-11 and finished with eight assists. Bibby, booed every time he touched the ball after badmouthing Boston's fans, was a brutal 2-for-7 shooting with one assist, the same number he had in the first game. Not the kind of consistency Atlanta coach Mike Woodson is seeking.

Not that any of the Celtics had any sympathy for Bibby. "This building's always been packed and rowdy," said Allen.

Pierce and Kevin Garnett have been constantly asked about Rondo all year. Neither has changed his tune. They think the guy's terrific. Speaking of KG, in keeping with this all-for-one, one-for-all posture the Celtics have taken, Garnett called the whole team out when he was presented the defensive player of the year award before the tapoff. One big happy family.

A family sworn to playing hellish D. "We make it look easy," Garnett said, somewhat in jest. "We're a defensive team. That's our destiny." Now that's no exaggeration.

(Lenny Megliola is a Daily News columnist. His e-mail is lennymegs@aol.com)